Holiday Gift Shop 20% Off in Person Event
The holidays are here, and it's the perfect time to find a unique, Somerville-themed gift for someone special! Our online store is now open, offering a variety of exclusive items that celebrate the charm and history of our city.
Enjoy 20% off next Tuesday, December 24th, from 12 PM - 4 PM at our special in-person shopping event. Browse our curated selection, meet fellow museum enthusiasts, and find that perfect gift just in time for the holidays.
First Flag Raising Ceremony
Every New Year’s Day the city of Somerville commemorates an important moment of the American Revolution The First Flag Raising. The event re-enacts the one that took place on Prospect Hill on January 1, 1776. General Washington raised a new American flag on that day over the highest point in the land, Prospect Hill in Somerville. The event starts at Somerville City Hall and proceeds to Prospect Hill.
Numerous city officials, the Ancient & Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts based out of Faneuil Hall (Boston), and re-enactors participate in the ceremony and parade. This year, we are excited to welcome Phillis Wheatley and Martha Washington the event.
For additional ADA accommodations, please contact 311 (617-666-3311) in advance.
Date: January 1st
Admission: Free
Start Location (11:30): City Hall Concourse – 93 Highland Ave. Somerville, MA 02143
End Location (12-1pm): Prospect Hill Somerville, MA
Parking: Public Lots & On Street Parking
Public Transportation: Bus 90 Davis Sq
Directions Hwy Exit: RT 93 to Fellsway Exit
Funded in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the City of Somerville. For questions, contact grace@somervillemuseum.org.
La interpretación a cualquier idioma está disponible previa solicitud (al menos siete días de anticipación) comunicándose con la Oficina de Asuntos de Inmigrantes de SomerViva en somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva o llamando al 311 al 617-666-3311.
A interpretação para qualquer idioma está disponível mediante solicitação antecipada (com pelo menos sete dias de antecedência) entrando em contato com o Escritório de Assuntos de Imigrantes da SomerViva em somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva ou ligando para 311 em 617-666-3311.
Entèpretasyon nan nenpòt lang disponib sou demann davans (omwen sèt jou davans) lè w kontakte Biwo Afè Imigran SomerViva nan somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva oswa rele 311 nan 617-666-3311.
Somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva मा सम्पर्क गरेर वा 311 मा 617-666-3311 मा कल गरेर अग्रिम अनुरोधमा (कम्तीमा सात दिन अघि) कुनै पनि भाषामा व्याख्या उपलब्ध छ।
如果提前申请（至少提前 7 天），可通过 somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva 联系 SomerViva 移民事务办公室或致电 311 617-666-3311，获得任何语言的口译服务。
如果提前申請（至少提前 7 天），可透過 somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva 聯繫 SomerViva 移民事務辦公室或致電 311 617-666-3311，以獲得任何語言的口譯服務。
The Art of the Festival Celebrating the Rain God of the Kathmandu Valley Opening Reception
The Art of the Festival features photographs, cultural artifacts, and works of fine art and popular culture that tell the story of the largest festival of the Kathmandu Valley. Practiced for nearly 1,400 years, this festival is devoted to a rain god who is honored by both Hindus and Buddhists and is known by many names, Buṃgadyaḥ and Rāto Matysendranāth foremost among them. People of Kathmandu from all walks of life each play their part in creating a dramatic spectacle in which hundreds of people pull the deity in a towering chariot that is as precarious as it is massive. Their success or failure is tied to the fate of the country. The photographs at the core of this exhibition were taken by Bruce McCoy Owens over the past four decades and were shown by invitation in three major exhibitions in Nepal in 2016. Like the festival itself, the exhibit is a collaborative creation, and includes stories of people in the Somerville area who share their memories, as well as objects, that hold special meaning in connection with Nepalese festivities.
General Admission: $8*; free to Museum members and visitors 12 years of age and under; Free to everyone on the first Friday of every month**
PARKING: There is no dedicated parking lot or parking spots at the Somerville Museum. Visitor parking is availble on Westwood Road, Central Street, and Highland Ave. If you hold a Somerville resident parking permit please park on nearby side streets. Public transportation is also available.
ACCESSIBILITY: The Somerville Museum is now ADA compliant. For more information contact us at info@somervillemuseum.org.
Early Music Afternoons: Duo Maresienne
Impromptu: Musical Surprises from the French Baroque.
Très Maresienne (Lisa Brooke, baroque violin; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba; Olav Chris Henriksen, theorbo and baroque guitar) perform sonatas, dances, character pieces and a symphonia by Clérambault, Dornel, Forqueray, and Jacquet de la Guerre.
Curator Talk: Bruce McCoy Owens | Art of the Festival Exhibit
Of Trolls and Men: Music from 18th-century Norway. Duo Maresienne (Carol Lewis, viola da gamba; Olav Chris Henriksen, Baroque guitar & English guitar) perform folk songs, fairytale tunes and dances from the mountains of Norway, as well as art music from the cities, with sonatas and suites by Schenck, Storm, Winding and others.
Early Music Afternoons: Duo Maresienne
Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares: Music of John Dowland
El Dorado Ensemble (Carol Lewis, Karen Burciaga, Mai-Lan Broekman, James Perretta, Alice Mroszczyk, violas da gamba; Olav Chris Henriksen, lute and orpharion) perform masterpieces of English renaissance consort music, including pavans, galliards and almains by Dowland.
Early Music Afternoons: Duo Maresienne
Affetti Musicali: Virtuoso Music of the Italian Baroque
Countertenor and cornettist Michael Collver joins Duo Maresienne (Carol Lewis, viola da gamba; Olav Chris Henriksen, archlute & Baroque guitar) for a Mother’s Day concert of songs, dances, toccatas and sonatas by Monteverdi, Frescobaldi, Castello, Saracini, d’India and Bassani.
Early Music Afternoons: Duo Maresienne
"The Glorious Ones: Music of the Great Late Baroque Masters" Ensemble Chaconne (Peter H. Bloom, baroque flute; Olav Chris Henriksen, baroque lute; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba) perform masterworks by J..S. Bach,Handel, Vivaldi, Telemann, Couperin and Weiss.
Early Music Afternoons: Duo Maresienne Special Guests
Of Trolls and Men: Music from 18th-century Norway. Duo Maresienne (Carol Lewis, viola da gamba; Olav Chris Henriksen, Baroque guitar & English guitar) perform folk songs, fairytale tunes and dances from the mountains of Norway, as well as art music from the cities, with sonatas and suites by Schenck, Storm, Winding and others.
Veteran's Day Commemoration
Brief comments on Somerville and Massachusetts in the Civil War, followed by a Wreath-Laying at the MRC Civil War 1863 Monument, followed by "Taps."
Brief comments on Veteran's Day and WWI, followed "Mourn Arms" ceremony by HM 10th Regiment of Foot, a Poppy Wreath-Laying at the gravesite of an unknown British Soldier, killed on "Battle Road" on 19 April 1775, followed by a bugle playing "Last Post."
Vitamin B for Victory: How Beer Helped Win WWII
During World War One, the U.S. government did everything it could to discourage beer drinking among the Doughboys. A generation later, Washington shifted course entirely, going out of its way to make beer accessible to soldiers and sailors on all the fighting fronts of WWII. The consequences would shape American drinking habits down to the present day. In this special presentation in honor of Veterans Day, we will follow the course of American beers from the Solomons to Bastogne, as the Greatest Generation marched towards victory with Lagers in hand.
Docent Opening: Guided Tour of Powder House
Originally built as a windmill, the old Powder House became property of the colonial government by 1748, and held the largest supply of gunpowder in the colony. After the Boston Tea Party, General Gage - of the British military - tried to control further rebellion by seizing military items from around the colonies. On the early morning of September 1, 1774, 260 British soldiers rowed to Somerville, marched to the Powderhouse and removed barrels of gunpowder. This incident sparked the "Powder Alarm" and was considered the rehearsal for the Revolution that started nine months later.
Join one of our docents at the Powder House, who will answer questions, allow you inside the structure, and provide more historical information about this important site.
Cost: FREE
Ghosts of Somerville
Thanks for coming to our 2024 Ghosts of Somerville event! Photo credit: Jeanine Farley.
Docent Opening: Guided Tour of Prospect Hill
Offering as it did (and still does) a panoramic view of Boston and its harbor, Prospect Hill was the site of the strongest of American fortifications during the Siege of Boston in 1775-76. The tower commemorates the site of the raising of the first official flag of the United Colonies — the Grand Union Flag — by George Washington on January 1st, 1776 during the rebels’ year-long siege.
Join one of our docents at Prospect Hill, who will answer questions, allow you inside the tower, and provide more historical information about this important site.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Guided Tour of Milk Row Cemetery
As the first and only pre-20th century burial ground in Somerville, Milk Row Cemetery was created in 1804 on land sold by Samuel Tufts to Timothy Tufts and others. Several members of the Tufts, Stone, and Rand Families are buried here. A Civil War monument reported to be the first in the nation erected by citizens in 1863 to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War was raised on a plot donated by Enoch Robinson, eminent inventor and designer of Somerville’s notable Round House. It was used infrequently after 1842 upon the opening of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.
In 1736, Somerville voted to provide funds for two schools, one on Milk Row and the other near Alewife Brook. No actual schoolhouse existed until after the Revolution, when land was taken to build the Milk Row School adjacent to the current cemetery where Market Basket now stands. It is likely that students attended only a couple of days a week with half days on Wednesdays, (just like their 21st century counterparts).
Join our docents at the cemetery, who will answer questions, guide you around the headstones, and provide more historical information about this important site.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Guided Tour of Prospect Hill
Offering as it did (and still does) a panoramic view of Boston and its harbor, Prospect Hill was the site of the strongest of American fortifications during the Siege of Boston in 1775-76. The tower commemorates the site of the raising of the first official flag of the United Colonies — the Grand Union Flag — by George Washington on January 1st, 1776 during the rebels’ year-long siege.
Join one of our docents at Prospect Hill, who will answer questions, allow you inside the tower, and provide more historical information about this important site.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Guided Tour of Milk Row Cemetery
As the first and only pre-20th century burial ground in Somerville, Milk Row Cemetery was created in 1804 on land sold by Samuel Tufts to Timothy Tufts and others. Several members of the Tufts, Stone, and Rand Families are buried here. A Civil War monument reported to be the first in the nation erected by citizens in 1863 to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War was raised on a plot donated by Enoch Robinson, eminent inventor and designer of Somerville’s notable Round House. It was used infrequently after 1842 upon the opening of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.
In 1736, Somerville voted to provide funds for two schools, one on Milk Row and the other near Alewife Brook. No actual schoolhouse existed until after the Revolution, when land was taken to build the Milk Row School adjacent to the current cemetery where Market Basket now stands. It is likely that students attended only a couple of days a week with half days on Wednesdays, (just like their 21st century counterparts).
Join our docents at the cemetery, who will answer questions, guide you around the headstones, and provide more historical information about this important site.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Guided Tour of Powder House
Originally built as a windmill, the old Powder House became property of the colonial government by 1748, and held the largest supply of gunpowder in the colony. After the Boston Tea Party, General Gage - of the British military - tried to control further rebellion by seizing military items from around the colonies. On the early morning of September 1, 1774, 260 British soldiers rowed to Somerville, marched to the Powderhouse and removed barrels of gunpowder. This incident sparked the "Powder Alarm" and was considered the rehearsal for the Revolution that started nine months later.
Join one of our docents at the Powder House, who will answer questions, allow you inside the structure, and provide more historical information about this important site.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Guided Tour of Powder House
Originally built as a windmill, the old Powder House became property of the colonial government by 1748, and held the largest supply of gunpowder in the colony. After the Boston Tea Party, General Gage - of the British military - tried to control further rebellion by seizing military items from around the colonies. On the early morning of September 1, 1774, 260 British soldiers rowed to Somerville, marched to the Powderhouse and removed barrels of gunpowder. This incident sparked the "Powder Alarm" and was considered the rehearsal for the Revolution that started nine months later.
Join one of our docents at the Powder House, who will answer questions, allow you inside the structure, and provide more historical information about this important site.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Prospect Hill Tower
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Milk Row Cemetery
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Prospect Hill Tower
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
***CANCELED*** Docent Opening: Old Powder House
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Milk Row Cemetery
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Spark of the Revolution: the 250th Anniversary of the Powder Alarm
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Powder Alarm, the Somerville Museum is partnering with the City of Somerville to produce a re-enactment of the historic event, followed by a living history fair. The fair will include docent tours of the Powder House, activity tables, and even a scavenger hunt of the park!
The re-enactment will begin at approximately 9:30 AM, followed by a living history fair and docent tours from approximately 10:00 AM until 12:30 PM.
Free and accessible. For additional ADA accommodations, please contact 311 (617-666-3311) in advance. Other questions? Email our Historic Events Manager at grace@somervillemuseum.org.
What was the Powder Alarm?
Learn more about the events leading up to September 1, 1774:
“The Revolution Could Have Started Here,” Bob Thompson for American Heritage, Vol 69 Issue 3
May 23, 2024 Lecture - How to Lose an Empire: The Road to the Powder Alarm
Further reading and resources
Keep scrolling on this page for suggested reading, compiled by the Somerville Museum with suggestions from staff, volunteers, and Kevin O’Kelly of the Somerville Library.
The library is regularly digitizing their historic collections. Check out the link below for more.
https://archive.org/search?query=collection%3A%28somervillepubliclibrary%29&sort=-date
La interpretación a cualquier idioma está disponible previa solicitud (al menos siete días de anticipación) comunicándose con la Oficina de Asuntos de Inmigrantes de SomerViva en somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva o llamando al 311 al 617-666-3311.
A interpretação para qualquer idioma está disponível mediante solicitação antecipada (com pelo menos sete dias de antecedência) entrando em contato com o Escritório de Assuntos de Imigrantes da SomerViva em somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva ou ligando para 311 em 617-666-3311.
Entèpretasyon nan nenpòt lang disponib sou demann davans (omwen sèt jou davans) lè w kontakte Biwo Afè Imigran SomerViva nan somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva oswa rele 311 nan 617-666-3311.
Somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva मा सम्पर्क गरेर वा 311 मा 617-666-3311 मा कल गरेर अग्रिम अनुरोधमा (कम्तीमा सात दिन अघि) कुनै पनि भाषामा व्याख्या उपलब्ध छ।
如果提前申请（至少提前 7 天），可通过 somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva 联系 SomerViva 移民事务办公室或致电 311 617-666-3311，获得任何语言的口译服务。
如果提前申請（至少提前 7 天），可透過 somervillema.gov/ContactSomerViva 聯繫 SomerViva 移民事務辦公室或致電 311 617-666-3311，以獲得任何語言的口譯服務。
Docent Opening: Old Powder House
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Prospect Hill Tower
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Milk Row Cemetery
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Tavern Talk: the 190th Anniversary of the Ursuline Convent Burning
On August 11, 1834, an Ursuline Convent on Mt. Benedict, in what is now Somerville, was vandalized and then burned to the ground by an anti-Catholic mob. Author and Salem State Professor Nancy Schultz will explore the tensions over class, gender, religion, ethnicity, and education that fueled the convent's destruction.
Tickets include one drink from Aeronaut Brewing!
Docent Opening: Prospect Hill Tower
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Milk Row Cemetery
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Old Powder House
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Old Powder House
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Prospect Hill Tower
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Milk Row Cemetery
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Prospect Hill Tower
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE
Docent Opening: Milk Row Cemetery
From May through October, three historic sites in Somerville — Milk Row Cemetery (Somerville Avenue), Prospect Hill Tower (above Union Square), and Old Powder House (Nathan Tufts Park) — are open to the public on certain days and evenings. Volunteers provide guided tours and information about the sites during open hours. The Docent Program was started at the Cemetery in 2012, and in 2017, it expanded to include the two additional historic sites. All sites are ADA accessible.
Cost: FREE